Bless the Child
by lakrymosa
Summary: A biography of Zuko's daughter, Fire Lord Honoura, and her life.
1. Birth

A/N: I'm going off of the fan name for Zuko's daughter, Honoura. If her name is released and it happens to be something else (and it probably will be), I'll edit the fic so it makes sense.

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**Chapter One: Birth**

The child's cries were the first thing Fire Lord Zuko heard as he rushed down the halls. Of course. Of course that meeting would run late, of course his wife would just so happen to go into labour when he was busy. Part of him was glad he didn't have to watch it― Sokka had told him that watching a birth wasn't exactly the most pleasant thing in the world― but he had still wanted to be there for Mai and to see their child.

He found the door and stopped in front of it, skidding on the ground a bit, and pulled it open with all the strength he could muster. There was Mai, looking beautiful as always, with a beautiful child in her arms. A smile graced the Fire Lord's lips. The baby was crying. The birth had gone well. Everything was okay.

"It's a girl," the nurse told him as he walked up to his wife and child. He gave Mai a quick, tender kiss and looked down at their daughter, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. Life was good for them now. No more war. No more fighting. The world was peaceful; the Avatar had brought balance to the world.

"What should we name her?" Mai asked, rocking the little girl.

Zuko thought for a moment. "How about Honoura?" he asked. Mai looked at him increduously.

". . Honoura," she repeated, still staring at him. "Honoura. You want to name her Honoura."

"Yeah! It's a great name!" Zuko insisted. "I spent so long seeking to get my honour back. It was my driving force. It's what led me to where I am today. And I want to commemorate that with my first born child's name."

Mai rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine," she said. "Honoura it is."

And thus, Honoura, daughter of Mai and Fire Lord Zuko, crown princess of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne, was born.


	2. Work

**Chapter Two: Work**

Firebender training was difficult for a little girl, but as the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation she had to do it as a child. Zuko and Mai had reluctantly hired a master firebender to teach her. Zuko remembered his training as a child. It had been difficult for him, although for Azula it had been easy. . He didn't want his daughter to be like Azula, though. That was one of his biggest fears. Honoura didn't seem to be heading that direction, though, and Zuko was glad.

Honoura seemed to like her training, though, which could be taken as a good thing or a bad thing. Zuko and Mai assumed good faith and took it as a good thing. While she wasn't a prodigy, she was good for her age and worked hard. Zuko liked that. She worked hard instead of being like Azula, who had just been lucky. He recalled his father's words.

"_Azula was born lucky. You were lucky to have been born_."

He would never say anything like that to Honoura. He was the one who was lucky to have her as a daughter, and Mai felt the same way.

On top of firebending training, Honoura also had school. She was academically smart and made friends quickly, although she preferred to play with her best friends, Kya, Bumi, Lin, and Tenzin. The children of her dad's friends, Uncle Aang, Aunt Katara, Aunt Toph, and Uncle the Duke. She also had an Aunt Ty Lee, an Aunt Suki and an Uncle Sokka, but they didn't have kids. She also had an Uncle Iroh, but he was old. Bumi didn't bend, but the children always made sure to include him in their games. Honoura liked him a lot, but he seemed to like Lin a lot more, which made Honoura feel a little jealous.

Of course, her parents had her put school ahead of play time and Honoura knew why, but she still liked playing more. While she was good in school, she still found it really boring, as most children did. She hated doing homework and despite being good in academics, some things eluded her. Her parents hired a tutor, which helped her a lot. She excelled in history― but that was to be expected; her family had saved the world.

Honoura was okay with firebending training over play time, or at the very least she could stand it more than homework. It was something to look forward to near he end of the day, learning to move like and to warrior dance, and to bring fire out of her body. She loved looking at the fire, watching it glow and burn, the flickering flame hypnotising her. Her sifu and parents warned her that fire wasn't something to be taken lightly, not something that she should simply play with, but Honoura only half listened. She couldn't resist its beauty.

She had fallen in love.

While she learned firebending, her mother had shown her the art of knives. How to pin things to a tree, how to defend herself should she be in a situation where firebending was impossible. Aunt Ty Lee knew how to block one's chi and Mai had made sure that just in cade that should happen to her daughter that the girl would be able to still fight. Honoura was the Crown Princess and she had to know how to defend herself in the most hopeless of situations.

Honoura worked her hardest to excel in all subjects. To do her best. She wasn't perfect of course, and she messed up a lot, but her parents and family cheered her on and were always there for her. When he visited, Uncle Iroh would always make her tea and give her advice. His proverbs were confusing a lot of the time, but occasionally she understood them. The two would also play pai sho, although her uncle always won. She wasn't very good at it, but Iroh told her that she would get better eventually and that it took many, many years to master the game. Sometimes she would get frustrated and knock the board over, but Iroh was patient and kind.

"Your father didn't realise the important of pai sho for many years," he would tell her, "But the game is part of your family history." Honoura had no idea what he was talking about, but she would scowl and continue playing the game. Learning firebending, knife throwing, pai sho, and academics all at the same time was really hard, and sometimes she felt like she was drowning in all of it, but thankfully pai sho was only when Uncle Iroh visited or when Zuko, Mai, and Honoura visited Ba Sing Se. She was the little girl who would someday be the Fire Lord, but it was _all so hard _at times. But it was expected of her.

And so she worked. And worked. And worked.


	3. Author's Note

A/N: I'm putting this fic on hold until the third book of The Promise is released due to the fact that the trilogy might crush everything this fic is based upon.


End file.
